Lustrum

Video of UCU Lustrum – The Dean&#039;s Lustrum Message

Video credit: Meike Eijsberg

As the first of its kind in the Netherlands, UCU has come a long way in the last twenty years.

Colleges like UCU may now revel in a well-earned academic reputation, but back in 1998 - it seems like such a long time ago! - it was far from certain that the university college was such a good idea. Selective admissions, a broad liberal arts and sciences curriculum and a residential life concept - these were foreign ideas in every sense of the word. Founding dean Hans Adriaansens' vision and dogged determination, well as Utrecht University's willingness to take a chance on the college, paid off richly in the end, as pioneering students, staff and faculty made this college the great success it is today.

Save the Date: University College Utrecht Celebrates its 20th Year Anniversary

The days of UCU as a risky venture are now past. This vision for education has taken hold in this country, and many more university colleges accordingly have sprung up, making the Netherlands the undisputed leader in LAS education. Through all of this, UCU has retained its distinctive vision of liberal learning. Rejecting pre-set themes, it allows students to fully explore the full gamut of academic fields. Valuing interdisciplinarity, it nevertheless believes disciplinary grounding is important. It is deeply committed to residential campus life on our beautiful campus, and at the same time sends students on exchange more than any sister institutions.

As we move into the next twenty years, University College Utrecht may justifiably be proud of its achievements. It must at the same time seek to set an ever higher bar for itself. And that is something that can only be done if we as a community, including our alumni, continue to find ways to make this happen.